Nursing and the permanence of care for older adults

Society is aging rapidly, a multifactorial phenomenon that instigates family, social and health concerns. In relation to health, professionals, including nurses, especially those dedicated to caring for older adults, seek to train themselves, every day, to invest in comprehensive care actions, according to needs and their responses to conditions of health and illnesses, in the different contexts of care for older adults.

Amidst the advent of the coronavirus pandemic (SARS-CoV-2), nurses now promote debates with specialists, with other professionals from different areas, with a view to unveiling effective modes of care based on scientific evidence, especially in this context of pandemic, when a new normality changed the recognized logic of care, in person, through direct communication. This reality makes us think of new strategies and new care in the face of the necessary distance and prevention of isolation of older adults.

It is also known that COVID-19 has changed older adults’ daily routines, the care and support they receive, their ability to remain socially connected and how they are perceived. Older adults face the challenge of spending more time at home, lack of physical contact with other family members, friends and colleagues, temporary cessation of employment and other activities, anxiety and fear of illness and death - theirs and others¹.

The effective outcome for this issue of the coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) is justified by the commitment of nursing to older adults in the family, in Primary Health Care, in long-stay institutions (due to the difficulty in acquiring and maintaining stocks of personal protective equipment for older adults and employees) as well as in hospitals. Older adults are the risk group for developing the most severe forms of COVID-19.

Knowledge about aspects inherent to older adults’ health, associated with the COVID-19 pandemic, makes a difference for coherent decision-making through the protection, control and preservation of the health of this population stratum.

Society, in turn, based on appropriate knowledge, directs its care to older adults, respecting the standardized norms proposed to combat the spread of SARS-CoV-2 and prevent contamination among individuals in the population, especially the elderly population².

Regarding nursing actions, those carried out through the Scientific Departments of Gerontological Nursing of the Brazilian Nursing Association (ABEn - Associação Brasileira de Enfermagem), organized in the states of Brazil, are mentioned. These bring together gerontological nurses who delve into studies and research aimed at benefiting health promotion and disease prevention for older adults.

Moved by these ideas, nurses promote and disseminate knowledge through literature, whether in the form of e-books, journals or scientific communication in a virtual environment. The so-called lives bring together professionals from nurses and other areas and provide a space for focused discussion on current topics that are quickly used by professionals in practice, namely: causes of older adults to be more affected by COVID-19; complete vaccination against COVID-19; elder care in long-term care facilities; older adults’ mental health and social isolation; care for hospitalized elderly and the redefinition of post-pandemic care, with a view to maintaining the elderly-nurse interaction in the face of new conditions and forms of work. The idea takes up Mendes’ thinking, when he states that nursing professionals, in order to obtain professional fullness, adopt and combine care as a way of being. Thus, supported by knowledge, competence, compassion and generosity, they will be able to “live the fundamental experience of value, of what is important and definitely counts”³.

Therefore, it is important to create opportunities to promote healthy aging during the pandemic, fostering engagement and mobilizing spaces in which older adults are heard in order to identify their real demands, encourage them to new attitudes and behaviors that lead to overcoming their problems and the effectiveness of preventive care and control of physical and mental health.

REFERÊNCIAS

• ¹
  World Health Organization (WHO). Older people & COVID-19 [Internet]. 2021[cited 2021 Jul 15]. Available from: https://www.who.int/about/who-we-are/privacy-policy
  » https://www.who.int/about/who-we-are/privacy-policy
• 2. Santos GB, Silva CVP, Pachú CO. Impacto da pandemia de Covid19 na saúde de idosos: uma revisão narrativa [Internet]. In: Sampaio EC (Org.). Envelhecimento Humano: Desafios Contemporâneos. São Paulo: Ed Cientifica; 2020[cited 2021 Jul 15]. Available from: https://downloads.editoracientifica.org/articles/201202434.pdf
  » https://downloads.editoracientifica.org/articles/201202434.pdf
• 3. Mendes IAC. O resgate do cuidar na enfermagem [Editorial]. Rev Latino-Am Enfermagem. 2000;8(3):1-3. https://doi.org/10.1590/S0104-11692000000300001
  » https://doi.org/10.1590/S0104-11692000000300001

Publication Dates

• Publication in this collection
  27 Sept 2021
• Date of issue
  2021